Sunday, November 12, 2017

Centro de Artes Exhibit Shows Juxtaposition of Puerto Rico in 1950s and Today

In an era riddled with xenophobia, “sanctuary cities” crackdowns, “show me your papers” laws, ignorance amidst crisis, and troubling headlines such as “Nearly Half of Americans Don’t Know Puerto Ricans Are Fellow Citizens” (The New York Times, September 6, 2017), the exhibition title “$t@tU.S.? Prints from Puerto Rico to San Antonio” conjures plenty — even without visual reference.

Curated by UTSA associate professor Dr. Teresa Eckmann and hosted by Centro de Artes in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Heritage Society of San Antonio, the group show juxtaposes prints created between the 1950s and the present day by celebrated Puerto Rican printmaker Antonio Martorell (as well as his contemporaries and students) with works from seven San Antonio artists who work within the realm of serigraphy.

Although thematically bound by creative responses to “the dynamic state of sovereignty, power, political action, heritage, democracy and equality,” the works assembled for “$t@tU.S.?” find common ground in the power of text and its employment for political, cultural and aesthetic purposes.